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Puzzle Pieces

Complete Summary:

"Because, baby, we're two adjoined pieces of the same puzzle- whether we like it or not."

Annabeth Chase. In which the anti social blonde haired girl destined to become valedictorian of her class, struggling to keep it together, finds solace in the kind hearted swimmer whom she tutors.

Percy Jackson. In which the broken green eyed boy destined to reach the Olympics, trying his hardest to take care of his sick mother, slowly finds peace in the beautiful savior of his grades.

They say that opposites attract, but some opposites aren't really opposites. Sometimes they're puzzle pieces- two souls destined by Fate to fit together, no matter how different they may seem at first glance.

Song of the Chapter: Spirits by The Strumbellas

"I just want to be alive while I'm here... Lost inside a lonely life... I'll be a dreamer till the day I die"

(And all these sorrows I have seen... they lead me to believe that everything's a mess)

Chapter XI

Annabeth's POV

She tries her hardest not to feel like this is a horrid, horrid mistake. Really, she does. After all, Annabeth was the one to call Thalia to accept her offer, it was Thalia's shoulder she had metaphorically sobbed over not even ten minutes prior. But as Annabeth huddles into the women's shelter, feels the gentle warmth blasting through the heaters, and listens to the sounds of many, many conversing women as they engage in what seems to be dinner... the regret smacks her in the same manner as a tidal wave.

"You okay?" Thalia lifts her eyebrows as she tugs off her coat.

Positivity is key... every day is a gift.

Annabeth inhales deeply before blowing cold air through pursed lips and nods. She shrugs off her sweater and hands it to her twenty-year-old friend's outstretched hand. The black-haired girl hangs both outerwear on the hooks littering the wall by the door.

"Sounds like dinner's on the table. C'mon, I want to introduce you to everyone. Keep an eye out for Mrs. Dodds, you'll know that me calling her a glorified harpy was not mean but instead, ridiculously accurate."

Annabeth laughs, attempting to dispel the anxiety that rumbles in her gut and pushes a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

Thalia leads her into the dining room, which is closer to a cafeteria than a domestic dining room, really. There are several, long Formica tables lining the room, half of them full of plates of food and seated, conversing women. Along the wall is a buffet bar. Annabeth pauses, eyebrows lifting for a moment in surprise.

"Wow," she breathes, taking in the room. "I didn't expect it to be so..."

"Fleshed out?" Thalia smiles at her, pride shining in her eyes. "Yeah, Vee and Diana put a lot of work into this place. Really wanted to make it a safe haven for all women." She glances around, and then her attention clearly lands on the object of her search. "Ah!" She reaches for the seventeen-year-old's wrist. "C'mon, Annabeth, let's go make new friends."

She frowns but allows her older friend to pull her along nonetheless. "You know I hate that, Thalia." Her eyes flicker over the room, studying the fluorescent lights and shining linoleum tiles. The place makes her (very private) school cafeteria look like a dumpster.

Thalia hums, continuing to tug her along. "It'll take your mind off things. Now stop dragging your feet or you'll trip and then I'll have no choice but to laugh at you. And that would be embarrassing for us both."

"Pity," the blonde mutters, ignoring the way her heart slams against her rib cage.

Thalia finally reaches her destination and drops her hand. Annabeth absentmindedly rubs her wrist and slides her glasses farther up her nose. With a pang to the stomach and a flush of her cheeks, she notices the two women that she now stands before.

The first woman is very tall, almost as tall as Percy, Jason, and Beck- those half-giants. Her hair is pitch black and long, tied away from her face in a simple braid. Her eyes are a yellow-silver, similar to the pale face of the full moon on a clear night. She dons a simple pair of deep blue scrubs and a stoic face. Beside her is the second woman, who Annabeth feels like she recognizes. She's much shorter, barely taller than Annabeth herself. Her face is done with meticulously applied makeup, and her russet shaded hair is also long, drifting in waves to the small of her back even when tied off in a ponytail. The woman's eyes are separate colors, brown on the left and green on the right and her expression is gentle yet firm.

"Annabeth," Thalia begins. "This is Diana ar Temis-Phrodite," she motions to the tall woman, "and Venus Phrodite-ar Temis."

The second woman holds out her hand. "Call me Vee."

The scent of roses and vanilla washes over the blonde, and she nods hurriedly. "It's nice to meet you," she says. When she pulls away, the recognition clicks. "You're Piper and Silena's mum, right?"

Beside her, Thalia snickers at the emergence of her English habits and Annabeth has to fight down another blush.

Venus nods demurely. "I am." She stares at Annabeth for a second more and then, "Annabeth." Her smile grows and she pulls her into a hug. "You must be Piper's tutor! Oh," she pulls away, holding the blonde at arm's length. Her heterochromatic eyes shine. "Thank you so much for your help."

Annabeth tugs on the ends of her hair. "It's no problem, really." Once out of Venus's embrace, she continues. "Piper's really smart. She's doing almost everything on her own at this point."

"Speaking of which..." Diana speaks up. She scans the room before pressing on. "Piper was supposed to come back with more napkins twenty minutes ago. Thalia," she turns to the black-haired girl, "Did you see her on your way in?"

She responds with a shake of her head. At Diana's consequent frown, Thalia says, "But Annabeth and I can go looking for her. We were going to meet up anyways, since we're all going out to that movie later."

Diana glances down at Annabeth and looks back to her friend. "Very well." Then, one of the women calls her name and she excuses herself. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Annabeth. I'm glad to have finally been able to put a face to the name my girls speak of constantly."

Annabeth blushes. Piper and Silena talk about her? "Likewise..."

She grins. "Diana's fine."

"Likewise, Diana."

The tall woman leaves, and soon after Venus is whisked away towards the buffet bar, one of the volunteers speaking about mashed potatoes having run out. Annabeth spins on Thalia, who leans against the wall, and shoves her hands into her pockets. Her anxiety hasn't lessened any, but it's growing just a tad more manageable as she grows accustomed to her surroundings. "I don't know this place like you do," she says.

Thalia nods. "You're right." She begins to lead her away. "I guess it's time I give you a tour anyway."

.*.*.*.

Later on. 8:15.

"Dia's been looking for you for ages." Thalia and Annabeth lean against the doorway to a small sitting room, the former calling the attention of the brown-haired girl sprawled across the couch.

Piper looks over and her face splits into a grin. "Annabeth!" She immediately sits up. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, completely ignore everything I just fucking told you," Thalia grumbles. She pushes off the doorway and slumps onto the couch next to Piper, kicking her Doc Martens onto the coffee table. "Something about napkins or whatever?"

Piper ignores her, turning to the blonde who still stands by the doorjamb. "Are you coming out with us later?"

Annabeth nods, fiddling with the loose hairs that curtain her torso. "Thalia invited me a few hours ago and I said yes." She motions vaguely behind her. "Listen, I think you should really go and see what Diana w-"

The Cherokee girl slips her phone into the pockets of her gigantic purple hoodie. Annabeth recognizes it as football team apparel, and when Piper turns to address Thalia and she catches sight of the faded white letters that spell out GRACE on the back, her suspicions are confirmed. "Thals, can you call Jason? He isn't picking up." Then she turns to Annabeth. "Sorry about cutting you off. What did you say?"

She bites back a smile. "You should probably go see what Diana wants."

Piper heaves with a sigh but trudges to the door nonetheless. "Probably," she gripes. "Mom can be terrifying when she wants to be. I told Drew to get her the napkins but I guess a Grinch can only do so much before completely ditching you. Speaking of," she glances to Thalia again, who's scrolling through her phone, "Do you know if she's coming or not?"

Thalia doesn't even look up from her endeavors. "Piper, I mean this from the bottom of my heart: I honestly couldn't give any less of a fuck about your sister." Her hair falls into her face and she frowns. "Does anyone have a hair tie?"

Piper rolls her eyes and turns back to Annabeth. "Did you eat?"

It's almost as if her stomach can understand English, because it grumbles in protest not even a full beat afterwards. Annabeth pushes her hair from her face and tries her hardest to ignore the cheesy grin that Piper has pinned against her. "I was going to say I wasn't hungry... but I guess you won't let me get away with it now."

Her friend grins. "Ah, you know me so well." Then, after bidding Thalia goodbye, she motions toward the hallway. "I'm thinking we could go get some burgers or whatever before we go to the movie. I'm not in the mood for spending thirty extra dollars on popcorn and soda anyway."

"That's a great idea. Tell me when you guys are leaving," Thalia says from her position on the couch. "We have about an hour and fifteen minutes before the movie starts."

On their way out, Annabeth asks Piper the name of the movie they're watching. Her friends scoffs. "I thought it was a joke, honestly. Like, Connor and Travis kept making such a big deal about seeing it. But the next thing I know, we're actually making actual plans and I'm spending a Friday night in the movie theater watching what's bound to be the worst movie of the year." She huffs as they begin to go down the stairs. "I mean, Flickerman III? They didn't even need a first one-"

"Flickerman?" Annabeth says dubiously. "Isn't that the cheesy horror movie where you can only see the slasher demon thing when the lights are flickering? My brothers are really obsessed with that... why are we seeing it?"

"Like I said," Piper narrowly trips on a step but presses on. "The Stolls kept making jokes about it until it became a real thing. We're seeing it the day before it premiers- which is tomorrow- so I'm guessing we'll be the only ones in the theater. Meaning they're gonna be total idiots and probably roast the movie the entire time. Honestly I'm just using this as a way to get out of the house. My life's been nothing but school, cheer, and volunteer work since Labor Day."

Annabeth hums. They make their way through the halls, still searching for Drew (and, unspokenly, Silena). As they traipse, she can't keep her emotions at bay. What is she even doing here? She fears sitting with Piper at lunch every day but suddenly she's met her parents and has grown acquainted with her place of work? How does that make any-

Positivity is key, she reminds herself. Calm down, Annabeth. The seventeen-year-old tries to get a steady grip on her pulse, sucking in deep breaths and exhaling softly. Piper remains oblivious to her emotional state... or perhaps she pretends not to notice in order to give her space. Her Cherokee friend has always been wise in that aspect; pushing when needed and retreating when not. It's a form of intelligence that Annabeth admires.

As the blonde attempts to quell that doubt that threatens to swell in her veins and her heart, her lungs and fingertips and every surface of her body, Piper asks around for her sisters. The last person she asks is a stout woman sporting a leather jacket, her face even more hawkish than Thalia's.

Glorified harpy, her mind taunts.

Annabeth flushes red and tries not to wheeze, forcing her laugh right back down her throat. She coughs into the crook of her elbow.

"-seen D or Lena?" Piper is saying. She's picking lint from her clothes as she asks the woman.

Mrs. Dodds shakes her head. "Not really," her voice is lilted with an accent that sounds Southern. Georgian. "I know Diana's been looking for you, however."

If Piper wants to scowl at her tone, she doesn't let on. "Well, my mom wants napkins. I gave the napkins to my sister, who seems to be missing. See my problem, Dodds?"

The older woman narrows her eyes, attention flickering to Annabeth for a moment, before nodding. She hums. "Now, honey, I'm not sure I like your tone."

Piper shoves her hands into the pockets of her boyfriend's hoodie. "I'm not sure that's my fucking problem-"

"-Thank you for your help, miss!" Annabeth intervenes. She begins to haul Piper away before her brunette friend can make a scathing comment, her stomach rumbling and nausea threatening to strengthen. Something about Dodds unnerves her, something about the way she looks at her. "C'mon, Piper."

They're gone before the portly woman to respond, hurrying down the hall.

"Such a harpy," Piper grumbles with narrowed eyes. "Thalia was right."

"That she was."

9:15. Cinema.

"So Piper really wasn't trying to get my hopes up," is the first thing that Annabeth hears when she climbs out of Thalia's car. The blonde swallows down a final sip of lemonade before leaving the cup in the holder and stretches to full height, scanning the parking lot. Immediately, her attention lands on Silena Beauregard, who is walking over with her boyfriend at her side.

Annabeth takes in the sight of the pair of seniors, the former wearing the largest grin known to mankind while the latter studies her with intrigued eyes. Her stomach rumbles and by reflex does she huddle against the side of the car.

"Chill out, Silena," Thalia says, no doubt picking up on Annabeth's discomfort. "She's my pal for the night. Paws off."

Silena wrinkles her nose at the eldest Grace and takes the seventeen-year-old's hand. "I never would've pegged you as a Flickerfan." Her blue eyes scour her face with genuine animation, a pretty smile pulling at the corners of her pink lips.

She smiles nervously. "Are any of us actual Flickerfans?" Annabeth glances around, uncomfortable with staring Silena in the face for longer than a few moments.

Beckendorf chuckles from his position a few feet away. The blonde mentally thanks him for giving her space. "I wouldn't be surprised if 'Kota or the Stolls turned out to be die-hard fans. This whole thing was Connor and Travis's idea."

"So I've heard," Annabeth mutters. The quartet begins to walk across the parking lot, heading for the gleaming dark doors of the movie theater. There are hardly any cars in the lot, proving Piper's earlier assumption to be true. Thalia slings an arm around Annabeth's shoulder while Beck tucks Silena into his side. The night air is crisp and cool, alerting all that the winter months crouch around the corner. She tilts her head up to gaze at the sky, admiring the twinkling stars and new moon and lack of clouds.

The interior of the cinema is warm and vacant, plagued by the scent of buttered popcorn and assorted candy. Already at the counter stands Piper, the Stolls, a brown-haired girl she doesn't recognize, and another black-haired boy guzzling red Gatorade. A few of Thalia's coworkers stand off to the side, making the separation between the groups evident as daylight.

"Um," Annabeth falters, forcing Thalia to come to a halt. Her brows furrow as she takes in the plethora of haughty expressions and stoic looks that display themselves across the countenances of her friend's coworkers.

"They're really not that bad." Thalia shrugs. Her eyes crackle and she studies her. "You can hang with Silena and the Stolls if you want. I think I put you through enough introductions tonight."

She bites her lip. "I'm really sorry."

The twenty-year-old slugs her in the shoulder. "For what? This is your chance to escape that fucking hell hole you call a house." Her expression turns somber. "Who would I be to make you uncomfortable in any way?" Thalia nudges her to the food counter. "I'll be fine, Chase. My ego isn't that fragile."

As Annabeth walks away, she swears she hears Thalia mutter under her breath, "I'm not a damn male." At that, the blonde giggles to herself slightly before sucking in a deep breath and approaching Piper and her friends.

The Cherokee girl catches sight of her immediately and waves her over with glee. "Annabeth!" Her eyes are bright and her smile is so, so genuine. Annabeth tries her hardest not to be envious.

"Hey, Piper," she greets. She turns to the tall blond that leans against the counter. "Jason."

He slides his gold-framed glasses up his nose and nods politely. "Annabeth."

"Annabeth!"

She freezes as two bodies suddenly press against her sides. The smell of shaving cream and deodorant wafts into her nose and her stomach turns over on itself. In front of her, Piper scowls.

"Get off of her, you whores," her brunette friend rolls her eyes. "She likes her space and you guys smell atrocious."

"No need to be so rude, Piper." The one on her left withdraws first. Annabeth glances up at him from the corner of her eyes, catching sight of messy brown curls and green eyes.

"Yeah," the one on her right continues. From what she can see through her peripherals, he seems to have the same face, height, and build. His hair is the same shade, but his eyes are blue. "We were only just greeting your GPA Jesus, or whatever Silena called her," he drawls.

The Stolls.

"Hi Travis," she murmurs. "Connor."

"Ah! She remembers our names!" Connor ruffles the top of her head and she struggles to fight down the urge to tense up.

"Yeah, her memory is like... ridiculously good. Now stop touching her before I dye your hair bright orange in your sleep." Piper intervenes, shoving them off.

Annabeth releases a breath and moves away to lean against the counter, making sure to put at least two feet of space between her and Jason. She lifts her eyes and finds herself face to face with the light-brown-haired girl. Her skin is tanned, despite it being late autumn, and a dash of freckles dot her nose. Her green eyes brighten kindly and she holds out her hand.

"Katie Gardner," she says. "The idiot who just assaulted you with the smell of his pits is my boyfriend, Travis. I would apologize for his behavior," she shoots a quelling look at the aforementioned Stoll before turning back to the blonde, "But I'm not responsible for his actions."

Annabeth takes her hand, fingers grasping her palm with a gentle shake. "Annabeth Chase," she says as clearly as she can muster. Didn't she escape Thalia so she wouldn't have to go through any introductions? "Pleasure," she continues. The seventeen-year-old almost winces as her English accent begins to rear its head, which it always does when she's uncomfortable.

Bloody hell.

"Alright," Beck speaks up. The jewels in his locs shimmer golden beneath the fluorescents. "Silena and I already paid for our popcorn and tickets. We'll see you guys in Theater 12. Whole place to ourself, so..." he trails off and the look in his dark eyes tell the rest. Give us space.

No one objects, although there are several snickers (mostly coming from Piper and the black-haired boy who had introduced himself as Dakota). Annabeth, already full from her and Thalia's quick stop at a burger joint on the way to, declines Connor's offer to pay for her food.

"I'm not hungry," she declines, pushing her glasses farther up her face as she glances at him. "Sorry," she murmurs.

He slips his wallet back into his pocket, right beside the lanyard that hangs out and swings around his denim-clad mid-thigh. "Don't apologize," he says goodnaturedly. "It's all good."

She finds herself flanked by Piper and Katie as they enter the theater. Travis is carrying both his and his girlfriend's food and drinks. With a prideful smile, she leans towards Annabeth and says, "He likes doing stuff for me. It's an enigma."

The blonde seventeen-year-old bites her tongue to keep from laughing- something very difficult to do since Piper is right there and she knows her friend's heard it too- but she manages to school her expression and nod somberly in response.

Look at you, her brain taunts. Acting like a normal teenager as if your life is fucking normal. Who would've thought?

Her stomach rumbles and she clenches her fist at her side. Positivity is key, she tries to remind herself. But her subconscious merely cackles in response, mocking her internal words as they bear no conviction.

There's a deep vibration in her pocket. Annabeth frowns to herself, going to turn her notifications on 'Do Not Disturb,' but her phone screen lights up at being lifted and her attention lands on the notification for a missed call. It's the third one she's received since 7. All of them were sent by her father. Alongside them are a handful of texts, asking her for her location and demanding she come home. With a thick swallow and a shove back into her pocket, Annabeth ignores them all. Another wave of nausea begins to climb through her chest, threatening to reach her throat.

The group enters Theater 12. Connor and Dakota tear off like children, squealing and hooting with laughter as they run down the hallway that leads into the viewing area. Travis and Katie slowly separate themselves, leaving Annabeth with Piper and Jason.

"You okay?" The blond boy asks, a concerned look extremely present on his face. It's clear that he'd seen her take out her phone, had probably seen the notifications that lined her home screen, had seen the way she'd stiffly put her phone away. It's clear in his body language, his tone, everything.

Positivity is key.

"Yeah," she lies. "Don't worry about it."

They come to a stop at the entrance of the viewing area. Beckendorf and Silena are seated in a back corner, already fully engaged in what looks suspiciously a lot like a make-out session (assuming they're keeping things PG-13). Travis and Katie have claimed a pair of seats a few rows down but on the other side of the cinema. She's nibbling on popcorn while he fiddles with her hair, attention trained on the screen displaying trailers for upcoming movies. Connor and Dakota are cackling about things unknown right in the middle. Thalia and her gaggle of coworkers are nowhere to be found.

"She's probably seeing that chick flick she swore was a disease in movie format," Jason comments idly, noticing his older sister's absence.

Annabeth looks over her shoulder, looks at Piper and Jason's conjoined hands, and looks up at their faces. "So..." she drawls awkwardly. "I don't really want..." To be your third wheel, she doesn't say. "But..." Connor and Dakota will probably eat me alive, she doesn't say.

Somehow, Piper understands completely. She rolls her eyes and huffs a little. "They won't bite. We don't bite-"

"-Mostly," Jason whispers with a blank expression. He's facing the large screen and doesn't react, save for a small ghost of a smile, when Piper whacks him across the chest with the back of her hand.

The Cherokee turns back to her friend. "Just choose where you want to sit, whether it's alone, with us, or with the prank-harlots." Her eyes glimmer in the darkness. "It's your night, isn't it?"

Annabeth nods. "Yeah, it is. I guess I'll..." she pauses as she turns around. Connor and Dakota have calmed some, but their presences are still so raw, so unfamiliar. Sitting alone sounds much more inviting. So much more inviting.

But positivity is key, she reminds herself. Every day is a gift. Be social for once. If you regret it, I told you so. If you don't, I told you so. It's a win-win for both of us.

She steels herself and offers one last smile at the couple behind her. Both of them look on with solidarity, and Piper gives her an encouraging nod. Annabeth, feeling with every step that she just may vomit all over the floors, approaches the pair of boys as slowly as possible. When she finally comes to a stop in front of them, they both look up at her easily. "Can I sit?" She asks.

Dakota breaks out into a grin, his teeth stained red. Oh. "Duh," he shrugs.

Connor gestures to the seat between them. "This spot's free."

Her blood drains from her face. "Um..."

They both laugh at that.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the blue-eyed Stoll says. "I gathered as much." He moves over into the seat he had pointed out before gesturing to another seat, this one two spots away. "Piper said you like your space, yeah?"

Annabeth nods, unable to keep her relief from her face. "Thank you," she says with sincerity. The blonde sinks into her seat, sitting cross-legged, and kicks up the footrest.

Two seats over, Connor calls out, "If you want any popcorn, just ask. 'Kota bought four bags. Xtra Large."

She smiles a little at that. "Okay," Annabeth returns the look on his face, trying to emulate the freedom that sparkles in his eyes. "Thank you."

"Anytime, GPA Jesus."

And with that, the movie begins, the lights dim, and her cheeks flush a deep shade of red.

After the movie. 11:30.

"I cannot believe you idiots made me see that shit," Piper curses on their way out. "I want my life back. That was such a waste of time."

"Someone sounds bitter."

"Of course I'm bitter! They killed off all the good characters, the token characters, in the first thirty minutes! They were the first fucking victims. What utter trash. I'm fucking vehement. Hollywood is such a cesspool of-"

"-Alright," Jason soothes, tugging his girlfriend away from her brewing altercation with Dakota. Her versicolored irises are narrowed in anger, her manicured fingers aimed directly at his face as she goes on and on about diversity lacking and queerbaiting and cheesy lines and horrible CGI.

"Probably would've been better if your dad was in it, huh, McLean?" Dakota snickers.

She flips him off. "You're such a clown, 'Kota."

He shrugs, popping open his second red Gatorade. "V'been called worse," he admits.

"Why don't you just cry me a river then?"

"Can't. Used up all my tears during the nursing home scene. That grandmother did not deserve that."

"I hope they pay for that actress's medical bills for the rest of her life," Piper seethes. "I'm so disgustingly angry right now, I could just-"

"-Write a better movie?" Jason asks. He sits them down on a cushioned bench outside the viewing theaters. "Make the plot less... horrible?"

She eyes him. "I was going to say 'slash the director's tires,' but I guess that works too. Huh."

He frowns. "You've been around Thalia too much."

Annabeth sits down a few ways away from them, heart pounding as she pulls out her phone. It's nearly midnight, the day is drawing to a close, her time is running out... but she doesn't want to face the music. She doesn't want to go home yet. She doesn't want this- whatever this is- to end. Connor and Dakota had ended up making her laugh more times than she'd care to admit. Piper had stood up and booed a total of 18 occurrences, jeering at the screen without a care in the world.

She really, really doesn't want this to end yet.

Then, like the true goddess that she has proven herself to be, Silena squeals out, "We should have a sleepover!"

Annabeth looks up from her phone. The missed calls list has grown to eight, her unread texts having climbed to a staggering eleven (staggering by her standards, anyway). Silena is leaning over her sister, eyes trained brightly on Katie and Annabeth respectively.

The boys frown and begin to edge away from the conversation. They all beg off, Dakota claiming swim practice in the early morning while the rest mutter about two-a-days.

Katie frowns as well. "I can't," she admits. "I promised my mom I would be home by 12:30 and you know how particular she gets. She'd never let me go on such short notice."

"Damn it," Silena pouts, her lips dropping. Then, she turns to the blonde. "Annabeth? What about you?"

The seventeen-year-old falters at the feeling of all attention thrown on her. "Well..." her phone weighs like lead against her hand. "Thalia was my ride and she-"

"-What about Thalia?" A voice breaks into the scene.

She swivels to see Thalia stalking out of Theater 10 (which, surprisingly, is playing a movie called The Fall of the Groom- Jason was right). Behind her are her coworkers, who take one look at the group of high schoolers before bidding Piper, Silena, and Thalia goodbye and disappearing from sight, ignoring everyone else. The twenty-year-old lifts an eyebrow. "I heard my name," she says.

"I was just inviting Annabeth to spend the night," Silena explains as Katie and the Stolls head out. Dakota, Jason, and Beck are talking amongst themselves in what appears to be an emotionally-charged discussion, and Annabeth doesn't miss the way the black-haired senior casts a worried glance at her boyfriend before refocusing on the eldest Grace.

Thalia nods a little, looking at Annabeth. "So?"

She doesn't respond for a moment.

Positivity is key, positivity is key. Every day is a gift.

Annabeth turns off her phone, feeling much braver than she really is. "I guess... it wouldn't be the worst?" Oh my god...

Thalia nods again while Piper and Silena rejoice.

"Ugh!" Piper leans over the couch to splay herself over her tutor's lap. "Thank gods. Now we can watch some good fucking movies and cleanse our chakras or some shit. Flickerman was such an abomination, I need to watch something else to forget about it."

Silena looks up at the twenty-year-old. "You should come to!"

Thalia snorts. "And spend the night with a bunch of high school girls? I love you guys, but that'll be a hard pass." She turns to Annabeth. "Are you going to need a ride home tomorrow morning?"

Piper cuts in, completely undeterred from her boyfriend's sister's scathing remark. "We got it covered. Go away, you absolute fossil."

She flips her off but laughs. "Good night, guys. I'll see you whenever." Then, after calling out a goodbye to her brother and sending Annabeth a meaningful look, one full of care and support but lacking in pity, Thalia strides off and pushes out of the building.

Annabeth watches her go, unable to shake the feeling of disappointment... and regret? Thalia had gone out of her way to get her out of the house tonight, and yet, she's barely seen her since they arrived at the women's shelter. The seventeen year old frowns to herself, feeling the emotions stew in her gut until they become too much.

And just when she's about to tell Silena and Piper that she can't make it after all, just when she's on the verge of making a run for it and chasing after Thalia's car, she feels her phone vibrate in her hand. Annabeth stills and decides to brave it. Positivity is key. She turns the phone over on itself and the screen lights up.

And then her face breaks into a tiny grin.

Don't even think about it Anna - Thalia.

She turns her phone back off and tunes into Piper's rant about why The Perks of Being a Wallflower is better than A Fault In Our Stars in all senses of the word. Her stomach still rumbles, yes, but there's a lightness in her chest that she hasn't felt in a very long time. And after several moments of reflection, Annabeth recognizes it for what it is.

Positivity.

A/N: Two updates in one week? Who am I? I am positive this has never happened before... is this what it's like to be a normal functioning writer? It's riveting.

In all honesty, I originally planned for this chapter to be longer but I felt that I reached a natural break and you guys deserve another update. I think I'm starting to get to the point where I'm less focused on sheer word count and more on chapter arc completion. But still, 5-6k words is a pretty standard chapter length for this fic, right? Hopefully, I didn't disappoint anyone, lmao.

This chapter was definitely more light-hearted than most. I guess with me cutting it short it turned into a filler, but that's okay. Next chapter will be emotionally heavy enough as is... I think we could all use a little positivity here and there.

But, nonetheless: thank you so much for reading! And, to respond to those who reviewed on the last chapter- thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement :) I love you guys.

To booknotbookie, ilovebluecookiestoo, Heroesofolympuslover, shamefangurl, and (guest) all about hope: thank you so so so much. It means the world to me to know that you care and that you understand!

And to (guest) Charlotte, who always puts so much thought into their reviews, thank you!

Thanks for reading! See you next chapter :)

~ everyshadedsilver